Smoked Cheeseburgers and Dutch Oven Fries

 

Today was my wife's birthday and I decided to make smoked cheeseburgers and dutch oven fries for her birthday dinner.  When you smoke a cheeseburger you get a taste that is delicious and completely unique.  All I do is mix some seasoning salt into ground beef and I used a hamburger press to shape the patties.  Using offset heat in my Weber Kettle Grill I smoked the burgers for at least an hour.  If you were making smaller burgers it would take less time.  The last 10 minutes I topped the patties with cheese and bacon.  Once I pulled them off the grill I toasted the brioche buns on the grill. The cheeseburgers have a great smoke ring and a flavor that cannot be beat.  

For the dutch oven fries I used a recipe I found in Barbecue Biscuits & Beans: Chuck Wagon Cooking.   

Slice the potatoes into thin wedges.  Preheat a 14 inch dutch oven to 450 degrees using 26 briquettes on top and 14 on the bottom.  Melt 1/4 stick of butter in the dutch oven and place the potatoes wedges cut side down in the bottom.  Make sure they do not overlap.  Cook about 20-30 minutes or until browned on one side an then flip the wedges over and cook for another 20 minutes until crispy.  You can top them with salt or seasoning salt.

Thanks for reading, and get out there and get cooking! 

Dutch Oven Quick and Easy No-Knead Bread

This bread is wonderful.  It only takes a few hours to prepare (most of it is just a resting period) and it tastes like artisan bread that has taken days to prepare.  I used this recipe for Fast No-Knead Bread and adapted it for my dutch oven.  

After letting the dough rest for 3.5 hours and shaping it into a loaf I placed it on parchment paper that I trimmed down to fit in my dutch oven.  Let that rest for another 30 minutes while you preheat your 12 inch deep dutch oven to 450 degrees using 22 briquettes on top and 11 on the bottom.  After 30 minutes carefully place the dough with the parchment paper into the dutch oven and cook for 50 minutes or until done.  Like I have said in other posts I do not change out the briquettes on the bottom of the dutch oven but I do replace the top as needed.  And every 15 minutes rotate the dutch oven a quarter turn so everything cooks evenly.  Let the bread rest for about 10 minutes before slicing and enjoying.  

Thanks for reading, and get out there and get cooking! 

Dutch Oven Pizza

Dutch Oven Pizza is one of my families favorite.  It is easy to do and has a taste that can't be beat.  I used my wife's pizza dough recipe and spread it in a 16 inch greased dutch oven.  Pour about a teaspoon of olive oil over the top and spread with your favorite pizza sauce.  Top with mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.  We topped it with pepperoni and oven roasted garlic tomatoes.  Bake at 375 degrees using 27 briquettes on top and 14 on the bottom.  Cook it for 40-45 minutes or until done.

Thanks for reading and get out there and get cooking!